


Out of the Car

by tatooedlaura



Series: Life, Part 3 [11]
Category: The X-Files
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-10
Updated: 2018-02-10
Packaged: 2019-03-16 08:57:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,320
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13632999
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tatooedlaura/pseuds/tatooedlaura
Summary: With a deep inhale, “it’s just this is the first time I’ve had to watch from the outside in a really long time and I don’t enjoy the view but that’s how it has to be sometimes and I’ll get used to it.” Finally turning a sheepishly seductive smile in his direction, “but at least we have a few more ways to deal with the stress now.”





	Out of the Car

Waking them from a sound sleep at 3am, Mulder struggled to sit up, found Scully settled on top of him, searched blindly with his hand to find the cell phone, no idea if it was his, hers, who cares, knocking over the half-eaten bag of M&Ms in the process. Rainbows scattering across the floor, rolling in every direction, he groaned in frustration when he still couldn’t find the phone on the coffee table. “Scully? Scully, you gotta move.”

In response, she rolled, thinking she was in bed, realizing she wasn’t, landing on her hip and left hand, the carpet soft but the three candies she crushed in the process not so much. Still 95% unconscious, she sat there, wondering which way was up while Mulder shifted, finally finding the phone on it sixth ring, “call me back when it’s daylight.”

“Then you don’t care that Stanley Cartwright is missing?”

He may not have been able to remember his own middle name in that second but he recognized Stanley Cartwright’s, “he’s what?”

“Gone from his cell, gone from the prison grounds, gone from the face of the Earth at the moment and if his last words mean anything to you, he’s looking in a phone book right now for your address.”

“How did he get off death row?”

Skinner, attempting to gather wallet and keys in silence so not to wake Maggie, “if we knew that, we’d have him back in custody. I’ll meet you in my office.”

Finally gathering his faculties while he watched Scully shake her head, stand, pick up squashed candies from the floor, “wait. Come here. If he’s out there, I don’t want him to run me off the road or worse.”

“Good idea. I’ll be there in 15.”

Looking down at Scully, tired, confused and above all else, carrying his child, “call me when you get here.”

&&&&&&&

Skinner arrived at the apartment, sense of paranoia building with each mile he drove. Once in the front door, locking regular and deadbolt behind him, he walked up the stairs, following Mulder to find Scully dressed, ready to go, bullets strewn across the counter, clips filled, multiple guns in various stages of assembly, “um, should your boss really be seeing your arsenal?”

“The government approved this arsenal and I plan on taking half of it with us while Scully keeps the other half.”

Skinner looked at the pair, both ready, steady, able and prepared to kick ass, “half?”

&&&&&&&&&&

Skinner would be 15 minutes and after explaining to her what had happened, Mulder stared as she rubbed her eyes, slower to wake up than usual. Flashing back on a conversation, his breath caught as he snagged her elbow, throat tightening in the clarity of the moment, understanding heavy in his heart, “this is it.”

“What’s it?”

“This is when you get out of the car.”

It took a fraction of a second to remember. Understand. Feel cold reality numbing her fingers and twisting her stomach, “are you getting out with me?”

The longest pause in the history of infinity happened over the next four seconds, with Scully already knowing the answer but needing Mulder to say it, “I can’t. Not right now.”

“Then we need to get ready.”

He saw the set of her jaw and knowing arguing would be futile, he waited, allowed words and logic to penetrate, assemble, order and prevail …

Both dressed, unearthed weapons, double-knotted shoelaces, tied back hair, stuffed wallet and badge in pockets, breathed deep, tightened holsters …

And his phone went off, signaling Skinner’s arrival, “he’s here.”

Mashing down fear at sending him back into the night alone, she swallowed her pride in name of their child, “I’ll work background if you take Skinner with you. I won’t leave the station so you won’t have to worry about me.”

Mulder ignored the phone, enveloping her face in his hands for a moment, kissing her lightly, “we will make this work.”

“Of course we will. Now go let Skinner in before he takes down the door.”

&&&&&&&&

“Scully’s going to work the case from the station. You’re going to be with me.”

Feeling they were about to slip into frenzy agent mode where there’d be no talking to them at all, he picked up one of the guns, holding up a finger to pause the prepping, “I need two minutes, all right. Tell me why you’re splitting up? You told Maggie you were feeling fine earlier.”

Suddenly just wanting to get on the road and find this asshole so he could come home again, Mulder tightened his jaw, “Scully’s pregnant and we are not reliving Pfaster so she is staying safe while you and I go do this thing.”

Non-plussed as he could possibly be, Skinner looked to Scully, “that will be explained in the car, please and do I get a vote in this election as Mulder’s new partner?”

As Mulder made his way past, stuffing handcuffs in his pocket, Scully shook her head, “not really.”

&&&&&&&&&

Stanley Cartwright, who made Gerald Schnauz seem like the pleasant neighbor next door, made the Peacock brothers look tame, scared the living daylights out of Mulder in 1991 and downright terrified him now. Cartwright had a thing for living brain dissection, a thing for family members and a thing that made Mulder’s sphincter clench up tight, even 8 years later.

It took nearly four days to track him down, the three of them ending up in South Carolina, Mulder and Skinner catching Stanley while Scully sat quietly in the station, gnawing on the corner of her thumb, praying the location she’d given them, sifted from two days of anonymous tips and careful reading on his prison ramblings, panned out.

The moment the call came through that she’d been right and Stanley Cartwright was well and dead in his third cousin once removed’s childhood bedroom, poor, unsuspecting Janice Appleton’s scalp already peeled back, twilight sleep thankfully keeping her from realizing Mulder could see grey matter, she felt her heart slow for the first time since Skinner woke them up nearly 96 hours earlier.

How in the world was she going to make it through nine months of this?

She needed liquor and to give Mulder a very long hug.

Finding Skinner and Mulder in the lobby of the hospital, leaning on counters while they waited to hear how the victim was, she ordered them to sit their asses down and eat the granola bars she’d bought. While Skinner gratefully unwrapped and began devouring his first food in two days, Mulder gave her a look, calculated something or other in his head, then, holding her hand, led her back into the parking lot, “what’s wrong?”

“Will there ever be one damn day where you can’t read my mind?”

“I’ve been in there before, remember? I know how it works and I know that when your mouth does that little twist, you’ve got something churning. What happened?”

Momentary pause to collect the proper words, she pulled her lips tight, conciliatory and apologetic, “I’m just wishing for a cup of Punch and that you really were the bookkeeper of my donut shop. I’ll be fine as soon as we can all get some sleep.”

“You know I don’t believe you, right?”

With a deep inhale, “it’s just this is the first time I’ve had to watch from the outside in a really long time and I don’t enjoy the view but that’s how it has to be sometimes and I’ll get used to it.” Finally turning a sheepishly seductive smile in his direction, “but at least we have a few more ways to deal with the stress now.”

“Without Skinner, I assume?”

Seduction turned squeamish in an instant, “really? Did you really have to go there?”

Finally collecting the hug he’d been thinking about since he saw her come in the hospital doors, “love me for who I am, Scully.”

“Sure. Fine. Whatever.”


End file.
